Fall in the part of the Delta where I grew up meant harvest, football and countdown to the Keiser Halloween Carnival. Friends, it was THE big event in our little town. I’ve written about my reign as Halloween Queen HERE if you’d like to get background information. The thing to know for purposes of this post is that the PTA mothers raised money for the school primarily so their kid and class representative could wear the coveted cardboard glittery crown.
A.BIG.DEAL.
Way back in Nineteen Hundred and Sixty-Nine (gasp), the year I was nominated Queen of the second grade class, our most successful fundraiser was the Keiser cookbook, aptly named Keiser’s Kitchen.
This cookbook belongs in a museum showcasing middle twentieth century PTA Mom handiwork.
Way before computers and high speed copy machines and your choice of cool fonts, regular construction paper covers were cut to size, manually stapled and hand lettered using a Bic marker. Someone (probably Momma) collected and typed the recipes on a clunky manual typewriter before running them off on the mimeograph machine in the teacher’s lounge. And I’m sure there was sniffing. Sniffing the mimeograph paper was the reward at the end… (if you don’t know what I mean, you are showing your young age.)
What a labor intensive project compared to today’s technology.
Our copy of Keiser’s Kitchen is priceless.
During the upcoming fall weeks, I plan to recreate these dishes as presented (along with maybe a little story about the Keiser mom who originally submitted the recipe). There are over thirty recipes, so I won’t do all of them because really, how many Jell-o salads does one need? But I plan to make lots of them. I think we need to remember these recipes, taste this simple, basic food lovingly made by our mothers who saw to it that we gathered around the supper table every night for a family meal.
I’ll warn you now, there will be no salted caramel frosting or balsamic anything. But sometimes maybe that’s what we need.
Stay tuned!
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
When I worked in the genealogy department at the library there was a whole movement to record your family history surrounding the meals that were always cooked. Looking forward to the recipes
You were the cutest queen! Love this project and look forward to your recipes.
Haha I think I might need to return to that hairdo/hair color:)) Thanks Gina!
Thanks Jeanetta!
WE DID SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO RAISE MONEY WHEN GARY WAS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THEY WERE ABOUT TO CROWN THE QUEEN AND KING. GARY DIDN’T WIN, BUT HE WENT CHARGING OUT TO BE CROWNED HE WAS ONLY FOUR,SO IT WAS OKAY.
How cute:))
Talya,, I still have Gary Joe’s book like that, his specialty was banana pudding,, so cute..
Yum banana pudding. Thanks, Linda!
I love, love this idea! I know I have something similar somewhere—but where? I need to find my PTA and Band Queen crowns. Don’t ask!
Thanks Debbie – I think it will be fun. We shall see…
Hi Talya. I still use this Keiser cook booklet. Mine is not as worn as yours.
One of my favorites is Sarah Smith’s Baked beans with ground beef..
The way the pages are folded probably helped preserve them.
I enjoy seeing the names of all the women that participated.
I also have the Osceola Progressive Club cook book “Delta Delights”. 1980-82
Your postings are delightful.
Thanks Barbara. I thought the baked beans sounded good—glad to have your endorsement! Thank you for your kind words. Nice to hear from you!
I love these old school cookbooks. I wish I could find the ones the small schools in Mississippi County. What fun that would be! I’m not even sure Luxora ever did one. If so,
I don’t have it. 🙂
Thanks Gail. Have you checked to see if there are any at the Osceola or Blytheville Library?
Hi Talya!
You know I am a Keiser girl thru and thru, but I was older than you! I do remember vividly the Halloween Carnival and the King and Queen! Such precious memories. I would love to have a copy or digital image of the Keiser Kitchen cookbook. I am sure that I am not the only Keiser girl to want it. No made a cookbook a few years back that is probably a Keiser/Wilson/Osceola cookbook. I will be glad to send you a digital pdf copy when my tech guy retrieves it from my dead Mac in exchange! Stacy played PeeWee basketball for me when she was in 4th grade. I was in high school and coached them! Such fun times!
Hi Lynn – of course I remember you. I’ll see what I can do about making a PDF of it. Our copy is in bad shape and some of the pages are faded. That’s one reason I want to post the recipes here on the blog.